Sole pressing pads



Oct. 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June so, 1955 Oct. 22, 1957 H. GULBRANDSEN 2,810,142

' 4 SOLE PRESSING PADS Filed June 30, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fnven for he/ge @g/branasen R 2,810,142 C6. J Patentecl Oct. 22,1957

2,810,142 SOLE PRESSING PADS Application June 30, 1955, Serial No. 519,125

5 Claims, (CI. 12-38) This invention relates to pads for pad boxes, which pads receive the bottoms of shoes pressed thereon,iparticularly in the cement attachment of soles to shoes- A successful-form .of pad box,vwhich is disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,568,065, granted September 18, 1951, on my application, comprises a box having angularly adjustable bottom parts .by which the pad resting thereon, is made toconformtothe longitudinal contours of the bottoms of shoes that are to-have heels of different heights. Resting on the adjustable bottom parts is a lower pad or water bag fitting the lower part of the box. Resting on the water bag is an upper pad of resilient material having a solid forepart, a solid heel part, and a shank part composed of a plurality of sections, lengthwise of the pad, each shank section being of solid rubber and having its upper surface contoured to correspond more or less closely to the shank part of the shoe which it is to support.

Water bags of this sort are expensive to manufacture and in use present a hazard of accidental breakage which, when it occurs, occasions considerable delay and expense. Solid pads of rubber and of wood have been substituted for the water bag but these eliminate the adaptive function of the water bag and render the pad less suitable for general use.

By the present invention the adaptive function of the water bag is retained by providing, in the box and resting on the angularly adjustable bottom, a plurality of layers of very resilient solid rubber of uniform rectangular cross-section, three such layers being preferable. Associated with these layers is another layer of similar material having a hole extending through its forepart, the hole having the shape of and being of the size of or smaller than the bottom of the forepart of the smallest shoe to be operated upon. Preferably the hole is extended as a relatively narrow slot through the shank portion of the layer and at opposite sides of the slot are upwardly extending bulges integral with the layer and supporting the sectional shank portion of the upper pad.

It is to be understood that rubber, even that of low durometer, when when completely confined is substantially incompressible. The opening and slot in one of the layers provide space into which the rubber of that layer and the other layers may be distorted or may flow to permit the upper pad to conform to the shoe bottom and enable the desired amount of wrap required in cement sole attaching to be produced.

The amount of wrap obtained may be varied by changing the position of the layer with the hole and slot with respect to the other layers of the lower pad. The greatest amount of wrap is obtained when the layer with the hole and slot is on top of the other layers, that is, in contact with the upper pad and the least when on the bottom, intermediate effects being obtained by locating it in the second or third position with respect to the other layers; that is, a progressively greater amount of wrap is obtained by locating the layer with the hole and slot higher in the stack of layers. The pressure of the shoe on the sectional shank portion of the upper pad causes displacement of a portion of the bulge on the lower pad into the slot extending through the bulge lengthwise of the pad, enabling the sectional shank portion of the upper pad more fully to conform to the contour of the shank portion of the shoe bottom.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a pad box embodying the present invention, parts being broken away to show the lower pad; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the layers composing the lower pad, the upper layer being the one having the forepart opening through it, having the slot extending through the shank portion and having the bulges on each side of the slot.

As shown in Fig. '1, the pad box has angularly adjustable bottom parts 10, I2 and 14 arranged to be adjusted by manipulation ofhandles 16, 18, as fully disclosed in my prior'patent above mentioned. I Resting on the bottom of the box and supporting the upper pad, to be described, is a series of layers 20, 20, 20 formed of solid rubber of low durometer (17 to 27), the layers being of uniform rectangular cross-section. Three such layers,

are illustrated but the number may be varied. A fourth layer 24 of similar material is provided which, as shown in Fig. 2, hasan opening 26 formed therethrough which lies undertheforepart of the upper pad and preferably is of the shape and sizeof the forepart of the smallest shoe to be operated upon but may be somewhat smaller.

Extending from the opening 26 through the shank portion of the layer is a narrow slot 28 and at each side of the slot are upward bulges 30 which lie under the shank portion of the upper pad. The upper pad consists of a resilient forepart section 32 of solid rubber, a plurality of shank sections 34 of solid rubber, the upper faces of which have more or less the contour of the shank portion of a shoe bottom, and a solid rubber heel section 36. The sections 32, 34 and 36, which are of higher durometer than the layers 20, 24, are supported by those layers which in turn are supported by the angularly adjustable bottom parts 10, 12, 14. When the bottom parts are adjusted at an angle to each other, the layers 20, 20, 20, 24 are readily bent and slip relatively to each other and assume positions corresponding to the angle between the bottom parts.

When pressure is applied to the shoe on the pad of the present invention in a sole-attaching press, the lower durometer layers 20, 20, 20, 24 are distorted, the rubber being permitted to flow into the spaces such as the opening 26 and the slot 28, the result being that approximately uniform, and at least adequate, pressure is applied about the periphery of the shoe bottom.

It is desirable that with the same pads varying amounts of wrap maybe obtained, some shoes requiring a flat bottom and others requiring more or less rounded bottoms. In the present construction these effects are produced by varying the position of the layer 24 with respect to the layers 20, 20, 29. When the layer 24 is on top, the greatest amount of wrap will be produced. When the layer 24 is in the second position, as shown in Fig. l, with one of the layers 20 on top of it, less wrap will be produced. When the layer 24 is in the third position with two of the layers 20 on top of it, still less wrap is produced, and when the layer 24 is in the fourth position with three of the layers 20 above it, a substantially flat bottom is obtained. In any position of the layer 24 in the stack of layers, adequate peripheral pressure on the shoe bottom is obtained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for use in pressing soles on shoe bottoms comprising a pad boxhaving a bottom angularly adiust- I thereof an opening therethrough of the shape of theforepart of a shoe soleforwhich the pad is adapted.

2. Apparatus for receiving pressure of shoe bottoms comprising a lower pad, an upper pad having solid resilient sections overlying said lower pad, said upper pad having a forepart section, a heelsection and a plurality of shank sections contoured to correspond to the transverse curvature of the shank portion of a shoe bottom, and said lower pad comprising a plurality of layers of rubber of low durometer and of uniform rectangular cross-section, and a similar layer having an opening therein extending through the forepart and shank portions of the layer whereby conformability is imparted to the lower pad.

3. Apparatus for use in pressing soles on shoe bottoms comprising a pad box having a bottom angularly adjustable for shoes that are to have heels of various heights, a resilient upper pad to receive a shoe bottom, a support for said pad comprising a plurality of layers of low durometer rubber fitting the box, each layer being of uniform rectangular cross-section, and a layer of material similar to that of the plurality of layers having in the forepart thereof an opening therethrough of the shape of but smaller than the forepart of a shoe sole for which the pad is adapted, having in the shank portion thereof a slot extending heelward from said opening to lie under laer being of 'unifor'mrectangular cross-section, and-a layerbfi njrater'ial similar to that of the plurality 'of layers liaving in the f orepart the shank portion of the upper pad and having an upward bulge at each sideof theslot.

4. Apparatus for receiving pressure of shoe bottoms comprising an upper pad having solid resilient sections overlying a lower pad, said upper pad having a forepart section, a heel section and a plurality of shank sections contoured to correspond "to the transverse curvature of the shank portion of a shoe bottom, said lower pad comprising a plurality of layers of rubber of low durometer and of uniform rectangular cross-section, and a similar layer having an opening therein extending through the forepart and shank portions of the layer and having an upward bulge at each side of the opening in the shank portion of the layer.

5. Apparatus for use in pressing soles on shoe bottoms comprising a pad box having a bottom angularly adjustable for shoes that are to have heels of various heights, a resilientvupper pad to receive a shoe bottom, a support for said pad comprising a plurality of layers of low durometer rubber fitting the box, each layer being of uniform rectangular cross-section, and a layer of material similar to that of the pluralityof layers and having an opening therein to permit saidlayers to be distorted under pressure, said last named layer being stackable in any order with the other layers thereby to vary the efiect of the opening on the amount of distortion of said layers under any given pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 240,487 Winslow Apr. 19, 1881 2,584,313 Woodman Feb. 5, 1952 

